Offshore oil rigs shutdown in N.L. after Husky Energy oil spill

The agency that regulates offshore safety in Newfoundland and Labrador says all offshore oil rigs in the province's waters have been temporarily shut down.

SeaRose FPSO is a floating production, storage and offloading vessel located in the White Rose oil and gas field off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

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The oil spill was detected Friday afternoon as Husky Energy's SeaRose FPSO was preparing to restart production after Thursday's "weather bomb" that hit Newfoundland-Labrador in what weather forecasters were calling "the most intense storm on the planet."

The SeaRose detected a loss of pressure in a subsea flowline as the crew was preparing to restart production. That is when the oil spill was detected. The exact amount of the spill is unknown, but estimates put it at about 250 cubic meters or 250,000 liters (66,043 gallons), reports CTV News Canada.

On Friday, Husky spokesperson Colleen McConnell in an email to The Telegraph wrote: “Any spill is a concern to us. We have deployed tracker buoys from the Hawk and SeaRose and a PAL observation flight is underway.” She also noted that rough seas were preventing containment and recovery operations.

"Four surveillance flights and an offshore support vessel have been deployed since Friday to help assess the extent of the spill and look for any effects on wildlife." The agency also notes that the incident does not appear to be an ongoing spill - but a "batch spill."

The CNLOPB said it will also “take whatever enforcement action is deemed appropriate in this incident. Operations at other facilities will not resume until the CNLOPB has determined that it is safe to do so."